In the news: ICC requests arrest warrant for Sudan’s Al Bashir
On Monday, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo requested an arrest warrant for Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, charging him with 10 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in the Darfur region. This is the first time that a sitting head of state has been charged by the ICC since its formation in 2002. It has been estimated that between 200,000-400,000 people have been killed in Darfur since the rebellion started in 2003, the majority being from the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups. Greater still is the almost 2.5 million people that have been forced from their homes and into internally displaced person camps, where they are subject to further violence and killings, as well as rape, hunger and starvation.
It is uncertain how the UN Security Council will vote on the warrant request, given the alliance Sudan has with members Russia and China. The move comes at a particularly delicate time for China who is just weeks away from hosting the summer Olympics in Beijing and has already faced significant international protest and condemnation over their continued business relationship with Sudan, believed to play a large role in enabling the government to continue its campaign of violence. China has publicly indicated “concern” over the warrant charges, despite voting in 2005 with the rest of the Council to unanimously support Moreno-Ocamp’s investigation into claims of genocide in Darfur. Even if the Security Council votes in favour of the warrant, many speculate it could be years until an actual arrest is made, let alone for Al Bashir to be brought to trial. In many ways, the arrest warrant may be, at least in the short-term, a symbolic move that attempts to break the current impasse of the situation in Darfur.
But, it’s a move that has been hailed by human rights groups and welcomed as a bold signal that ‘no one is above the law’. It has also prompted a vocal outcry of opposition. A series of protests held in the nation’s capital of Khartoum - though largely attended by pro-government supporters - have denounced Moreno-Ocamp and the legitimacy of the ICC. There are concerns that if this backlash becomes violent it could further destabalize the region and place the lives of Sudanese and aid workers in the region at even greater risk. The UN and humanitarian organizations working in Darfur have increased security measures in the wake of Monday’s announcement.
It is yet to be determined whether requesting an arrest warrant for Al Bashir will have the results the ICC intended or simply ignite dispute in an already tenuous balance of international relations, perhaps also inadvertently bringing harm to those it seeks to protect. But in the end, Moreno-Ocamp’s position is not an enviable one: ‘I don’t have the luxury to look away. I have evidence‘.
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